Adventures in Babysitting
by Batgirl
Summary: Bruce Wayne winds up in a situation that he can't say "No" to!


Adventures in Babysitting

            By: Batgirl

Rating: PG

Summary: Bruce winds up in a situation where he can't say  "No!"

Disclaimer: Yadda, yadda, you should know these aren't mine by now!

Note: Semi-based off of an RP land, held in cartoonie world. This one was inspired by a friend of mine, my gal pal, Kara! And we both figured it was a cute idea soooo… *waves* Therefore, I dedicate THIS one to you, Kara!

****

"You want me to WHAT?" came a confused voice speaking into one end of the phone. Bruce Wayne's voice had more of a sense of worry than confusion. His brow furrowed as he stared at the phone in dismay.

"I was wondering if you were free to baby-sit for the evening." The gruff voice of concerned father, Roy Harper, poured over the line. The desperation in his voice almost made the attempt to ask pathetic, but he was able to conceal the pathetic attempt in a halfhearted way.

"I'm sorry, Roy, but I can't. You know I have things to… take care of later on."

"I know! And I'm so sorry to inconvenience you, but I had no choice." Roy stated, followed by a faint sigh.

Bruce's eyebrow rose, not sure what to think of this situation. "One always has a choice." He reminded him, his Batman sense of morals kicking in.

"I know, but she's refusing to be watched by anyone else. She ow--!" a quick hand to the groin was in order as Roy rested on his knees in pain. "She—she HIT me with a ball in the nuts!"

"I'm sure she did."

A faint chuckle came from the other end. "She's got her daddy's aim." A fake sniff. "I'm so PROUD!"

Bruce just continued to listen to muffled noises in the background. He started to wonder if Lian was throwing more unknown objects at her father.

"Wayne, still there?"

"Yes." His replies started getting to his standard one-liners. He never tried to exceed himself, expect maybe when he was holding a conference at work, or some other job related something. The only other time he didn't use his normal line of speech were at his elusive parties, but even then things were limited.

"Lian wants to speak to you. Here…" More muffled noises as the phone was passed on.

A soft, sweet child's voice of four years old spoke over the phone. "Hello Mr. Wayne."

Hearing the child's voice somehow soothed him, but yet he had no idea why. "Hello Lian. How are you doing?"

"I'm okay. Daddy has to go outside and play with Auntie Jesse tonight. I think they wanna be alone."

Meanwhile in the background, Roy started pulling at his hair. He was silent, except for the few grunts he left out.

Lian continued. "Are you gunna watch me, Mr. Wayne?? I haven't seen you in a long time."

Bruce fidgeted in his chair thinking of the small child. He had to admit, he LIKED her. The girl had potential and she was as smart as hell. That was a fact. She was already learning some Japanese that he had been teaching her. "Would you like me to watch you?" was the only reply that he could squeak out.

"Yes, very much so!" Her voice picked up, she was excited. Bruce could tell that much.

"Okay then. I guess I will." How could he say no to Lian? For him, that was pretty much

impossible. "Put your father back on, would you?"

"Sure!" Lian handed the phone back to her father. "Mr. Wayne wants to talk to you!" She

skipped off.

Roy looked at the phone before putting it to his ear again. "Yeah?"

"I'll watch her. I'm going to bring her down here to the manor, if that's alright?"

"Alright!? Oh nono, that's FINE. Thank you, Mr. Wayne. I'll make this up to y--"

"Don't mention it." Was the quick reply. "I want to."

"I'll see you soon then?"

"Within the hour."

"Cool. Thanks again." Roy waited for a reply from him, but he never got it, the line went dead "Ehhh… shoulda known." He said to himself hanging up the phone.

**

Bruce Wayne's Roll-Royce rolled up to the Titan's tower at a quarter 'til seven. He stepped out of the car and shut the door, brushing the unseen lint off his jacket and started for the building. So this was it: A night babysitting. Not like it was hard or anything. He raised Dick for years, and now Tim, a child of FOUR though? Could he actually handle it all alone?

He's done it before after all. Well, no he hadn't. He wasn't totally alone the last few times he's watched Lian. Roy, Barbara, Donna, Tim, or Dick was close by in some essence. But this time it was going to be completely different. It was just going to her and him. 

Tim was away at a friend's house doing some sort of school report. The last time he saw him was when he raced down stairs wearing a horrid red, black and white Hawaiian shirt. He hated that thing on him. Apparently he was spending the night. Fine with him. Barbara was working, simple but excusable. Donna was working late. Another excusable reason. Roy was leaving. And Dick was out somewhere in Buldhaven running around. 

He entered through the doors of the tower and looked around. He was soon greeted by Jesse Quick. "Hello Bruce!" she smiled. She was wearing a lavender gown, lined with rhinestones around the neck, and a pair of black strappy sandals. Her hair was down, being accented with a rhinestone heart hair clip on the side.

Bruce nodded politely. "You look stunning." He commented smiling a bit. Augh! Total Bruce Wayne mode was kicking in. During this was mostly the only time the man smiled. The last time he could honestly say he's smiled was when he was married to Susan. But then again, she turned out to be one of Poison Ivy's evil creations and NOT an ideal mate.

Jesse smiled politely. "Thank you, Bruce. And I must say YOU look as handsome as ever. Just get back from a party?"

Bruce shook his head. "No… just threw these on."

Just then a small voice came from one end of the room. "Mr. Wayne!" Lian Harper ran over and hugged Bruce's legs tightly. "I drew you a picture while I was waiting!" Lian handed him a crayoned drawing. "That's you and me at that pool party we had last summer, 'member?"

Bruce took the drawing from her and smiled a little. Not a fake smile, but an authentic one. "Thank you. And yes I do remember." He looked over the figures. All of the features could be identified. Eyes, nose, mouth, hair even. "This is VERY good. Is this REALLY for me?" he asked, turning his blue eyes towards her.

Lian nodded. "Yep!"

"I think I have a very special place to put it."

"Where's that?" she asked innocently.

"Right on my refrigerator."

"Cool!" She watched him for a moment. "I'm gunna be with you at YOUR house?"

"Uh huh."

"C'n I spend the night??"

"WHOA, hold on there partner!" Roy called in a western accent. He caught every word of that. "Now we don't want to go troubling Mr. Wayne like that. He's a busy man."

Bruce looked at him, after considering the child's question. Batman wasn't going out tonight, but instead he was going to be watching a four year old child. The last time he was stuck with a child or children for that matter was when J'onn J'onnz, AKA The Martian Manhunter, had taken them to and area hospital after a battle against a bunch of snake worshiping, magical women with the Justice League. "No no… it's alright." Bruce insisted. "She can stay the night, if her daddy says it's alright."

Lian's eyes lit up.

Roy looked at Bruce in pure shock. As tempting as it was he DID wanted to spend a bit more time with Jesse, but laying that kind of thing on Bruce Wayne? Who was HE to fool! "Ohh no… I couldn't possibl--"

"I INSIST. It's alright, Roy." 

Roy watched his eyes, and looks back to Lian. Was this for real? "Well… alright. I'll go and get a few changes of clothes for her and stuff. Don't go away!" Roy jogged off into the distance and started gathering some of Lian's clothes. PJ's, undies, and all of the essentials. I don't believe this, he thought. Bruce Wayne offering to let Lian stay the night with him?? Not like he would worry or anything, he trusted the guy with his life, and he knew if anything were to happen he'd protect his daughter.

After a while Roy emerged with a duffle bag with Lian's belongings in them. Bruce reached over and took it with ease. "Here ya go." 

"I'll have her back by lunchtime tomorrow."

Roy nodded to him. "Sure." He smirked, this was truly unbelievable. His eyes wondered back down to Lian and kneeled down to her level. "Gonna give me a hug before you go, Princess?"

Lian wrapped her arms around her father's neck and gave him a hug. "Sure am, daddy! I'll be EXTRA good for Mr. Wayne, I promise!"

Roy chuckled. "I know you will sweetie. You SURE yer gunna be okay all by yourself?"

"I'm not gunna be by myself." She pointed to Bruce. "Mr. Wayne's gunna be with me. Don't worry about me daddy, we're gunna have a LOT of fun!"

A lot of fun, Bruce silently thought as he watched the entire interaction. What was FUN to a child? Well, whatever it was he'd soon find out, that's for sure.

Roy stood once again and nodded. "I guess he WILL be." He handed Bruce a small business card. "My cell number's there and at the place we're gunna be at for the night."

"I'll be sure to call if anything happens." Bruce assured him. 

Lian instinctively took hold of Bruce's hand. "We'll be okay daddy."

Roy smiled. "She's got her toothbrush and everything else in there…" He had to make sure he got everything down. "Her bear, pillow and stuff--"

"I can handle it." Bruce said to him. "Have a good time."

"Bye Daddy!" Lian waved as the two headed for the exit.

**

Lian's eyes slowly wondered up to the never-ending ceiling. She had been to Bruce's house a few times before, but that had been a while ago. Things seemed different in some way, but she wasn't sure what to make of what was out of place. She noticed a pillar, which an ancient Chinese vase rested on. She looked at it for a moment and tried hard to decide. "That's new, isn't it?" she asked questionably.

Bruce nodded. "It is."

"It's pretty!" she declared.

Bruce chuckled faintly. "Yes it is. I thought so too. I thought it would be a nice edition to the house. Do you think I made a good choice?" He had to try and remember he was with a child. He couldn't give her one-liners.

"YEAH! But… how come there aren't any flowers in them? Usually when we have vases like that we put flowers in them."

"Well… to be honest, flowers aren't really supposed to go in that vase. Herbs are. It came from the Su-Ling Dynasty of ancient China; people would put special mixtures of different herbs inside. And the dragons on the outside with a combination of the special herbs, help ward off evil spirits and keep the families who had these vases filled with luck."

"It's lucky?"

"According to what I was told, yes." He smiled a bit. Teaching her a thing or two wasn't going to hurt anything. He enjoyed teaching her. She was always, ALWAYS such a good student. 

"What's a Su-Ling dynasty?" she asked a bit curious.

"It was a period in ancient China between 589-618 AD."

"Like when the dinosaurs were alive?"

Bruce chuckled a bit. "A little earlier."

"Oh." Her small form toddled through the main room, her eyes still looking around. "This place is SO big! Do you ever get lost?"

"Not much, no. I think I know my way around this place enough to not get lost." His own eyes wondered around the manor. He had really forgotten how big the place was.

The two of them soon found their selves in front of the mantle. Young Lian's eyes were looking at a portrait of Thomas and Martha Wayne that was so carefully placed on the wall above. "Who're they?"

Bruce looked up for a moment, realizing whom she was speaking about.  A touchy subject in his terms, one he didn't like talking about with others. And they knew not to ask, but then there were those that didn't know or just forgot. Lian was different however. She was too young to understand or even know for that matter. "That's my Mom and Dad." He finally answered, taking a seat in an oversized brown leather chair. 

"Wow." She commented. "You Mommy sure was pretty."

Bruce had to admit to that one, he nodded a bit.

Lian slowly walked over and pulled herself into Bruce's lap, with his help of course. Her eyes wondered back over to the portrait. "Your daddy looks like you… sorta. You have the same eyes, I think."

"You think so?" Bruce knew his behavior was completely indifferent. This was strange to him. Even with Dick, he couldn't remember if he walked around the house and talked. They were always training, but that was the extent. However, there were a few "moments", but not many. 

Lian nodded her small head. "Yup! People say that me an' daddy has the same nose."

"Izzat so?"

"Uh huh!" She looked at him for a moment and then drew silent for a minute before speaking again. "Where are your Mommy and Daddy now?"

Another touchy subject, this time it was more of a sub-subject. "They died… when I was little."

The small girl realized that her big-buddy was hurting. She had to make him feel better. "I bet you they're up with the angels." He small voice seemed to echo through the silence.

Bruce stayed silent, thinking.

"I bet you they loved you a lot, huh?"

Bruce nodded a bit.

"And you loved them?"

Another nod.

"You miss them?"

The patience Bruce was showing was remarkable, and his cooperation with answering her questions were all in one: amazing. This wasn't the real Bruce. Yet there was no emotion in his face this time however. It had gone stone cold like it normally did. He leaked out another stiff nod.

"They're not really gone ya know." She continued. Her small hand tapped his chest, right where his heart was. "You still have them in here. They'll never leave you, and they're even there when you need them the most"

Bruce watched her hand for a moment. How in the hell could one child get so smart? Roy was definitely a lucky one. 

"I know it hurts, but they're love'll help you through it. They're always gunna be with you and they're NEVER gunna leave. That's the best part." She smiled.

Another nod came from him, this time his eyes rose to meet hers. "You're right." The child held the wisdom of an elder. That was known. He inhaled a moment. "Did you eat dinner?" he asked, feeling a little more light on his feet.

"I had spaghetti earlier and some yucky green veggies."

"You don't like green veggies??"

"I don't like the bro… broooka…" she thought for a moment trying to get the word to come out.

Bruce waited. He had complete faith in her and he knew she was still at that learning stage.

"Broccoli!" She smirked, satisfied.

"What about pineapple, are you fond of that?" He didn't wanna give her sugary foods before bed time, fresh fruits were a good treat.

"Uh huh! I like those and apple and oranges!" 

"How about the two of us go get some snacks and we'll watch… He remembered Roy stuffing a movie into her duffle bag. "The Lion King?"

"Okay!" 

Bruce scooped her up into his arms and started for the kitchen.

**

Bruce's eyes flickered as the "Circle of Life" song was played for the second time. Rafiki raised Simba and Nala's new cub into the air and then the screen went black. "Wow."

"Isn't that neat!?" Lian asked sipping on some juice. "That's my favorite movie!"

Bruce thought for a moment and looked at Lian. "You know what the name Simba means?"

She shook her head.

"It means 'Lion' in African."

"It does?" she asked intrigued. "Well that would explain why they named him that. He IS a lion after all."

"Good eye. Notice anything else in the movie?"

"Monkey's can't talk."

Bruce nodded and smirkd a bit, hitting rewind on his remote. "True… VERY true." He waited a little bit and popped a grape into his mouth, then went and retrieved the video and placed it back into it's case. His eyes wondered to the clock. It was getting late and Lian needed her rest. "How about I show you to where you'll be staying for the night?"

"I get my own room?"

"Sure do." He offered his hand to her, which she gladly took.

The both of them climbed the stairs and into the room next to Bruce. He pointed out to her where he would be if she needed him at any time of the night. "Did you brush your teeth?" he asked carefully.

"No, not yet." She eyed him. "Did YOU?"

Bruce shook his head at that one. BUSTED! "No I didn't."

"Okay, how about I go change into my PJ's and brush my teeth and YOU go change into your PJ's and brush YOUR teeth."

Bruce watched her a moment. This kid was something else. Alright. I'll be right back. He

disappeared into his bedroom and shut the door. He changed into a pair of red silk pants and a sleep shirt with BW embroidered into the side. He brushed his teeth, wondering WHY he was agreeing to all of this and came back five minutes later and knocked on the closed door before entering. "Lian?"

"You can come in!" called the voice inside. She was still in the bathroom, the faucet water running. She was still brushing her teeth.

Bruce entered and just stood there a moment, when was the last time he put on PJ's?? Been too long he knew that.

 Few seconds later Lian came out dressed in her floral prints and walked over to the bed and climbed in herself. Bruce was surprised, he didn't have to say a WORD to her, she just did it!

Bruce waited a moment and walked over to her making sure everything was nice and comfortable for her. "You comfy?"

"Uh huh!" She had her bear snuggled in right next to her.

Bruce pulled up a chair and sat at her bedside. Did he ever do this with Dick?

"Can you read me a story, Mr. Wayne?"

"No." He corrected. "I can TELL you one." He thought for a moment. "In the beginning, in the Sky World, a pregnant wife asked her husband to fetch the delicacies she craved. But she wanted the bark of a root of the Great Tree in the middle of the Sky World, which none were permitted to touch. Finally, however, he gave in, and scraped away soil to bare the root of the Tree. Underneath was a hole, and as the woman peered down into it, she got too close to the edge however and held onto the tree, pulling off some leaves and some seedlings but she fell through. She kept falling and falling, until a few birds helped carry her down safely. There was no land only water, so the birds decided to ask their friend the Sea Turtle if the cloud woman could stay on his back. She knew she wasn't going to be able to go back to the Sky World, so this was going to be here new home. Here, on the Sea Turtle's back, she planted bits of the seeds and plants she had

brought from the Sky World. And that's how land was created." He smiled a bit. "According to Iroquois legend."

Lian smiled a bit. "So according to them it all started when a lady fell from the Sky World?"

"Uh huh."

She closed her eyes, after having them become heavy. "I like that story." Before long she drifted to sleep.

Bruce sat and watched her for a moment before turning out the light. He never went back to his bedroom to go to sleep. He stayed in the same chair he was sitting in and closed his eyes, never leaving her side.

[End]


End file.
